Leaf Container Basil - Italian Cameo

The database name is a garbled form of Renee's Garden's 'Italian Cameo' Large-Leaf Container Basil, but the variety behind it is real and specific: an Italian breeder's cross of a superior Italian Genovese with a traditional dwarf basil, made to keep Genovese flavour and leaf size on a plant short enough for a windowsill pot. That is the entire point of it, because most dwarf basils shrink the leaf along with the plant and Cameo does not, instead packing full-sized leaves densely onto a compact frame. In Italy the same plant is sold as leafy little living pots at greengrocers and farmers markets for cooks to snip from at home. Renee's Garden carries it as a North American exclusive and coats the seed in natural clay so the tiny seed is easier to space by hand.